Anyone sick of classic albums mostly given the "Deluxe Hip-o Select" treatment?

[Ngroove]

Sorry fans, but while I appreciate a number of classic albums are being CD-ed, WHY THAT? To me, "Deluxe" format apparently means adding extra tracks, and a second disc, to up the $$$$ to perhaps $30, or even more! When releasing the album in CD form as it is, non-deluxe-ing in music and packaging, to the barest basics, I'd assume Best Buy and Wal-Marts could sell em' for $13, possibly even some sellers in Amazon going for $10!

And, apparently most Hip-o Selects, are limited print releases, once they're gone, they are gone, at least in regular price, expect whatever's left jack up even more!

To be frank, in stores, the only Classic, vintage Motown albums I see in CD form, is mostly 70s Marvin Gaye, or 70s-80s Stevie Wonder. How about adding some 60s Temptations, Supremes, and Four Tops in there?

[RossHolloway]

To answer your question: No. I love the deluxe treatment that these albums have been given and I love knowing the thought and process that went into making these classic albums. I hope more are done in the future. And smart consumers can find away around the Hippo-select prices thru sites like Amazon. As a fan I appreciate these releases and get excited with anticipation when word of a new release is on the way.

[skooldem1]

I wonder if Hipo ever thought of releasing a deluxe version and also the original for people who just want that. That way you can decide if you want to pay extra for the deluxe treatment.

[thomas96]

No it doesn't affect me, since I don't buy CDs. But I can see why you would be angry with it. As great as Stevie and Marvin's 70's music is, in my opinion, generally all the 60's albums are better, and they should release them on CD for those like you who like that music and want to buy the albums. I bet there are a lot out there like you.

[carole cucumber]

I wonder if Hipo ever thought of releasing a deluxe version and also the original for people who just want that. That way you can decide if you want to pay extra for the deluxe treatment.

Hip-O did something like that with some sets but from the opposite direction. A few years after the deluxe edition [[What's Going On and Street Songs, for example)came single cd's of the bonus content. This allowed those who did not want to pay the extra money for the deluxe edition of an album they already owned to purchase just the bonus material. I've seen those in some of the stores. I suspect that they weren't big sellers, because I haven't seen more recent re-issues done in that way.
Also, remember that it's been mentioned that large chain retailers only seem to want greatest hit collections rather than individual albums. They, at least sell adequately, as long as new configurations of the same old-same old are offered periodically.
It's also been reported here that more and more of the individual albums that used to be available in the stores are being offered as downloads. [[Solid Rock, Farewell i.e Captured Live On Stage). But my guess is that these are available with the same mixing/mastering as when these cd's were released in the 1980's.

[Ngroove]

Yeah...for one, who in the right mind, was in charge of making "Where Did Our Love Go" on CD a LIMITED EDITION, so of present, is being sold on Amazon for $235, and that's for the used price???
http://www.amazon.com/Where-Did-Our-Love-Go/dp/B000BPGJIQ/ref=sr_1_23?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1361561834&sr=1-23&keywords=supremes

Outrageous!

Just, rather than "mono AND stereo tracks" [[already doubling, repeating the tracks, adding to price) "filling" in shelved numbers from failed album [[which could have been candidates for a Cellarful Vol.5 and beyond anyways), just remaster one set of originally released songs in best stereo possible, and release them, and, release them, out for general mass public, in the brick-n-mortar stores, budget [[affordable) price, than just catering exclusively to internet cyber buyers, with their fat credit cards!

[justanothermotownfan]

I LOVE what Hip-O has done with the deluxe editions of the albums! The Earl Van Dyke set for one, was brilliant. The Supremes, Tammi Terrell, Marvin Gaye, etc sets are awesome because it not only gives you the thought process behind the actual albums but the overview is fantastic, with the alternates and particularly the live cuts of the period. For me, nothing was worse than going into Tower Records or some other music store looking for Motown CD's after 1991 and only finding greatest hits packages. Now, finally, we're getting the albums again and I'm fine with it.

I understand what's being said about the limited aspect of it, as I missed out on the 70's Supremes deluxe album box set and now if I want it with the booklet and details I have to pay hundreds of dollars, which sucks IMO. However the downloads are available for a fraction of the price, and having that option is quite nice on iTunes.

I applaud Harry and team for making these deluxe editions available and even the Kent /Soul/Ace group for their productions [[The Original Spinners deluxe [[Truly Yours) is smokin'!). It's truly a labor of love by the people who adore the music as much as the Motown fans do and I think the prices are fair considering everything that's included in the package. I just wish the process didn't have to take as long as it does. I sincerely hope we see more deluxe editions become available sooner than later.

[carole cucumber]

"Yeah...for one, who in the right mind, was in charge of making "Where Did Our Love Go" on CD a LIMITED EDITION, 1000-print, so of present, is being sold on Amazon for $235, and that's for the used price???
http://www.amazon.com/Where-Did-Our-Love-Go/dp/B000BPGJIQ/ref=sr_1_23?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1361561834&sr=1-23&keywords=supremes

Outrageous! "



I believe the number of units printed was 10, 000 not 1, 000.
Do you have a copy? There are various configurations of the basic Where Did Our Love Go cd available for much lesser sums, and as your original post was to request the release of single cd original albums rather than deluxe editions, I'm confused about your most recent post.




"Just, rather than "mono AND stereo tracks" [[already doubling, repeating the tracks, adding to price)"




I believe that often there are differences between Motown's mono and stereo versions [[some great, some small, some hardly noticeable except to a greatly trained ear) and several posters have requested to receive both versions together. After releasing the stereo lp version, the mono lp version was finally made available for this set.




"filling" in shelved numbers from failed album [[which could have been candidates for a Cellarful Vol.5 and beyond anyways),"





If I understand correctly, the Cellarful concept was for the inclusion of previously unreleased vault tracks with a primary focus on 2nd and 3rd tier groups and solo artists. Yes, the series did also include selections from first-stringers such as the Supremes, but the basic concept was not to overload the cd's with the major artist's recordings.



"just remaster one set of originally released songs in best stereo possible,'




Again, many fans grew up with the mono versions of singles and value the fullness of sound and excitement of the single mixes



"and release them, and, release them, out for general mass public, in the brick-n-mortar stores, budget [[affordable) price, than just catering exclusively to internet cyber buyers, with their fat credit cards!"




Once again, most major retailers opt not to carry re-issues of individual albums of Motown artists/groups, but welcome compilations of greatest hits. It's all in what they say sells for them. With regards to brick and mortar stores, regrettably there are less and less of them . If this were the 1990's, what you request would be very feasible. But times and technology change things greatly.

[soulster]

6209

Here's the deal: most major labels are reluctant to reissue most classic soul albums on CD because they, frankly, don't sell as big as rock titles, and the audience for R&B largely does not even buy CDs. They cling to their old vinyl or download. So, in order for reissue producers to get the material out on CD, they have to come up with extras and twists to justify the expense, and that will hopefully encourage the suits at the labels to allocate a budget for the release. Since they know that the audience for the material is small, they have to give these sets some extra value. That's why many are reissued as deluxe packages.

Take the recent "Trouble Man" deluxe edition by Marvin Gaye. Mostly everyone who cares about the album already has it in one format or another, and, again, the audience for such an album is relatively small, so they had to entice the buyers with little goodies. Otherwise, it can be found on iTunes as a lossy $9.98 download that requires no packaging or liner notes, no manufacturing or marketing, and lesser sound quality. In other words...cheap.

And, this is in addition to what Carole-cucumber says about retailing today.

[Methuselah2]

Everybody's making some really good points here.

But when I look over what UMe has put out through Hip-O Select, I can't feel anything but immense admiration and appreciation for the exceptional care and attention that goes into each and every one of their products. Not to mention the intense research, the relentless investigation, the endless fine-tuning that the UMe producers seem insistent upon. The Marvelettes 2-volume set. The Earl Van Dyke/Funk Bros. release. The Mary Wells collection. The Tammi Terrell collection. The Supremes MORE HITS BY--loaded with incredible sounds and genuine surprises. The NOTHING BUT HEARTACHES alternate take, anyone? And it's the very same with each release. The excitement and pleasure starts the moment each released package gets in your hands--the packaging itself, the enclosures, the information. I think the products are of such rare quality for the simple reason that those producing them love the music and care so strongly about how they present it. The treatment? It's the full treatment. Those packages literally burst open!

[calvin]

I love the sets and look forward to them. Considering that these are not big sellers for the label, I think that they're reasonably priced for what we get.

Some labels promote things as limited editions so that potential customers won't sit on their hands and delay their purchase. They'd like to print them up and clear them out quickly, recouping their investment and ideally making some return on it.

I do feel bad for potential buyers who come late to the party and have to choose between buying a ridiculously expensive copy and a lossy download. I missed out on the David Ruffin Unreleased Album the first time and had to settle for an mp3 download, but I replaced that with the cd when it was reissued last year. Now I have all the Motown Select titles that I want [[which is nearly all of them!) on cd. [[Thank guys for re-releasing it!)

Ideally, I'd like to see everything that they've ever issued on cd available as a LOSSLESS download.

[nabob]

I'd like to see UME do what Sony and Warner Bros have done in Europe. For about 10 to 13 € [$ 13 to 17] these two labels were selling 5-pac CDs on various artists. This brought the cost down to about $ 2.65 to 3.40 per album. I grabbed 5-pacs on Margie Joseph, Chaka Kahn, and Wilson Pickett. The albums were the original release with faithful reproduction of front and back covers. The retro-added insightful liner notes and new pictures found in the beautiful deluxe editions made by UME were missing, but those 5-pacs were a great way to supplement missing albums at less than $ 3.00 each.

[soulster]

They marketed a several of those here in the U.S, too, from many genres. I have no idea how they sold, though. I have one from Chaka Khan.

UMe has also done a few of them with Rare Earth, Eddie Kendricks, Smokey Robinson, and DeBarge, among others. I'd like to see even more artists done this way, complete with new mastering. Switch comes to mind. Rick James has had various albums reissued, but it would have been great if they had redone everything up to "The Flag".

BTW, this is a great thread, Ngroove!

[marv2]

I would like to see one or two of the Four Tops classic albums given the deluxe treatment and I'll be satisfied.

[calvin]

The 5-cd box sets [["Original Album Series") put out by Warner are very good value, as nabob says. I have several of them, including among others The Spinners [[Detroit Spinners as it says on the box), Anita Baker, and Robert Flack. 5 cds for about £12, I think I even bought some for less than £10.

I've read that the record companies make decent money off these, despite the low price, because they're *very* cheap to produce and they often sell reasonably well. These are titles that had already been issued on cd individually years ago and the ones I have were not remastered - they are just the exact same cds, but now put in cardboard sleeves and a box roughly the same width as a normal cd jewel case. I think that once the sales of the individual cds have stalled, they do this budget repackaging to get another round of sales out of these titles in their back catalogue.

I find it strange that they're 5 cds, even in some cases where they have to skip one or two LPs from an artist to get it down to 5. I wonder if this is to keep all the boxes the same size, which also saves money on printing and packaging?

Also from Warner, I recently bought the first 10 albums of Joni Mitchell in a box set for £20. Again, cardboard sleeves which replicate the original LP covers, but slightly more elaborate [[they fold out) in this case. I'm not sure but I think that these are not remasters again. But so what? They sound good.

Of course, I guess you already need decent digital masters of the titles to put out these budget boxes. It's sad to say, but many Motown LPs, even by major artists like Smokey Robinson and the Miracles or Jr Walker & The All Stars, have still never been released on cd. Though I suppose Universal could do this budget box treatment with some of the Motown cds that were issued in the early 1990s - while they keep the Hip-O stuff coming, of course!

[Ngroove]

Myself, the reproduced albums I have on CD is Stevie Wonder's "Music of My Mind", "Talking Book", "Innervisions", and "Songs In the Key of Life", and Teena Marie's "Irons In the Fire" and "It Must Be Magic", only one of the bunch paid more than $20 on, I believe, "Songs In the Key of Life", and even it had only four or so bonus tracks!

Still looking for [[someday), a more affordable Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go", and their seventies albums, Four Tops' "Second Album", thinking about Temptations "Temptations Sings Smokey", seeing that is affordable enough, as is "More Hits By the Supremes" , waiting for a more affordable Little Stevie Wonder "Recorded Live: 12-Year Old Genius" and still waiting for High Inergy to start having their albums CD-ed, to name a few.

HOLY COW! just noticed this one: I remember seeing the Marvin Gaye / Tammi Terrell complete duets at such a turn-offingly frightingly price of $30-35 at the mall once or twice years back; this is truly a first in noticing such a collection price decreasing over time. I shall place this under a great "Maybe"
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Duets-Marvin-Gaye/dp/B00005RIK5/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1361577567&sr=1-1&keywords=marvin+gaye+%26+tammi+terrell

[Ngroove]

Amazing, how much of Atlantic's Soul input has been CD-ed, at such prices on Amazon, by the way - if only Motown and a few licensed with permission third companies if need be can have the same dedication of [[cheaply) re-releasing their catalog, as Atlantic and their licensed with permission third companies has with Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Eddie Floyd, ect.

[calvin]

I'd like to see Hip-O do more sets like the Miracles "Depend on Me" - their first 5 LPs on 2 cds, I see it's now about £10 on Amazon UK, that's a good price. And I'd like to see the releases come faster - there are still too many Motown LPs that have never been released on cd.

[stephanie]

I love what HIPPO has done and I wish that they were NOT a limited amount. However they have done a wonderful job and we have people like George and Andy and Deke and others to thank for this. Look how some of these things sell out even though there is a limited audience. I can guarantee you if the Brits were here in America they would make the limited number 50,000!

[soulster]

I would like to see one or two of the Four Tops classic albums given the deluxe treatment and I'll be satisfied.
My vote goes to the first three albums they did for the ABC/Dunhill label. They seriously need to be issued on CD with complete remastering.

And, here's another vote for reissuing everything in a lossless download!

[thanxal]

To the contrary, I hope they release every album this way. I absolutely love having the mono and stereo tracks on one disc together and love the bonus material.

Andy, George: PLEASE don't stop making them.

[ejluther]

I cannot stress how much I love and will continue buying the Hip-O Select Deluxe editions -- keep 'em coming [[especially Diana Ross & The Supremes)!

[calvin]

My vote goes to the first three albums they did for the ABC/Dunhill label. They seriously need to be issued on CD with complete remastering.

I'd also love to see the Four Tops ABC Dunhill LPs on cd. These should be under Universal now, via MCA Records, though it might not be something for HIp-O's Motown Select group.

I hope the master tapes are still around for remastering - I understand that ABC Dunhill threw away many of their original master tapes in the 1970s to save space, leaving only the original finished LP masters.

[calvin]

It's slightly off topic, but soulster mentioned the Smokey Robinson LPs above. I've asked this question before, and I emailed our friends at Hip-O but didn't get an answer, so I'll try again - why did the series of Smokey solo LPs stop? They were just getting to some LPs that I really wanted - "Yes, It's You Lady", "Touch the Sky", "Essar", and "Smoke Signals", none of which I have.

"Being With You", the last one Hip-O did, was also Smokey's last LP on the Tamla label, after that his albums came out on TMG. Could that have something to do with it? But why should it?

[rovereab]

I do hope the deluxe treatment and L&F albums continue. So many interesting songs have emerged by these series that add real value over and above just simply replacing an old LP/early CD release with a more more up to date remastered equivalent.

Keep them coming please........

[calvin]

Keep in mind also that Motown was not an LP label in the 1960s, so it's great that the Hip-O team could put the Complete Motown Singles together. Also, think how much more we got with the Marvelettes set than if only the LPs had been issued. Ace also does a great job, again think of how much more we got with the Eddie Holland set than if only the LP had been issued.

My only gripe is that there are too many Motown LPs which have never been issued on cd, but maybe I am too impatient. Between Hip-O, Ace, and with SoulMusic and BBR doing some 1970s LPs, we are getting a decent number of titles every year.

Oh yeah, and the lack of lossless downloads. What is the next generation of fans/customers going to do when they see that many of these releases are sold out? Hint to Universal - some will look for others who have them so they can make copies. So please keep these available, as cds or lossless downloads, it's better for everyone!

[nathanj06]

I love what Hip-O has done with the deluxe editions especially The Supremes. The cost can be a bit steep but I'd rather have them than not. Having the mono and stereo versions is great. For me it's a privilege to have them.

[Motown4Ever518]

Ngroove a great thread! When I read every response, it makes being here a wonderful experience.

Hippo Select such as Supremes 2 CD sets. Keep them coming, a must have especially for someone who was not an owner of the Lp's or previous CD versions. Mono and Stereo versions, I am not a fan of having both versions other than to hear the Lp again with a slightly different sound on the CD. The unreleased tracks in the time line are interesting though many have been issued before. The booklet is what makes it all worthwhile. The behind the scenes looks, the pictures, some never before seen, the track listings, such as this song was originally assigned to X, but then assigned to Y, strings added on Z, background voices rerecorded on this date, great stuff. The product is priced where it should be.

I haven't purchased anything from a retail store since the mid nineties, Temptations One by One, presenting solo material from the Tempts singers, a Luther Vandross 3 CD Pack are purchases that come to mind. Though, retailers are not as apt 20 years later to stock such items these days.

My credit cars are not fat, they are very fit and trim thank you Mr. Ngroove. However, Supremes Live @ The Copa, I just purchased about a year after it's original release for about $18.00 which is how I operate, as opposed to the close to $30.00 bucks at the time of release. I can honestly say that every Motown release that I wanted to have I have. The only CD I purchased at list price was Mary Wells because I was afraid I was going to miss out.

What I do with say the Smokey 2 for Deluxe series is take my 90's first or second generation CD's and put them in my car. I have no interest in exploiting my fellow Motown Lovers. For example I saw on E-Bay, Cookin With Miracles for $60.00, in my mind buying the Hippo Set with the first 5 Miracles LP's, I felt, I did not need 2 copies, but I would never try to sell it for $60.00.

While we are on the subject of Hippo, Complete Motown Singles 1966, would it be too much to ask for, a re-pressing of say 2,500 copies, the used market has pushed up the resale to $180 and more, or roughly double what it sold for when it came out.

In closing, while I have enjoyed this Motown Music for over 50 years, I do have an almost 15 year old daughter, therefore I know about downloading music, but for me, I need the physical copy, with a cover, and hopefully a booklet. The excitement of hearing about a release, then seeing the track listing, then seeing a photo of the cover is about all of the excitement "This Old Heart Of Mine Can Take".

[Kamasu_Jr]

Those of you who are new to the Motown experience or way of life will learn that you gotta buy the releases when they are issued or you will regret it later. Motown albums have always sold high on the collector's market. It's good music for one, but other than that I don't understand why the price always shoots up for some titles. I doubt we will ever see a large scale Motown reissue campaign of classic titles like we had in the 1980s. I'd like to see the Deluxe treatment given to artists other than the Supremes. The Four Tops, Temptations, Martha & the Vandellas have not had any of their classic albums expanded or reproduced in Mono and Stereo versions. But Motown has done better than most labels which have allowed many classic albums to just disappear [[think Stax, James Brown, Vee Jay, etc.) You can still find many Motown classics at affordable prices if you know where to look. Japan is one country where many Motown classics are still available but they are costly. You will not get them cheap. Just this month I paid over $30.00 for a Four Tops double album disc. If you really want something, you will pay for it.

[Ngroove]

Thanks a lot everyone. Perhaps I am a bit wrong about overpricings of the reproduction business - possibly if looking at the right places. Yes, mass, cheap reissues would be neat, to fill my CD racks with as many Supremes, Temptations, Four Tops, sixties Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight & the Pips, ect as I could, simply because of being able to afford it - from the sounds of this discussion - these days - not enough of an audience to support a market of old R&B, or Motown is still placed, most fortunately, on a higher premium, than other typical Soul companies.

Thanks for the discussion so far, people.

[soulster]

I hope the master tapes are still around for remastering - I understand that ABC Dunhill threw away many of their original master tapes in the 1970s to save space, leaving only the original finished LP masters.
Those Four Tops tapes are safe and sound. They didn't get thrown out. The only things that got thrown out were the mono tapes, and that was up to about 1971 or so. Obviously, some survived, or else we wouldn't have the mono single mixes of three Dog Night's "Liar" and "Joy To The World".

The problem of lossless really isn't with the labels. they can do whatever is demanded with relative ease. If it comes down to it, they can just rip an existing CD! The problem is with the vendors, and what they want to market. Most are content selling mp3s or AAC losssy. HDTracks sells hi-rez, but the labels have to go back in and remaster the stuff from the tapes if they don't pull any funny business and just upsample redbook.

I think the reason we see so much Diana Ross/Supremes stuff reissued right now is because Weigner and the others read this forum and decide, based on the feedback and activity, that it's the best way to go. Obviously, if the rest of us want more than just those singers reissued, we have to be more vocal about what we want.

[aarondillon2011@gmail.com]

Speaking of cd's and Motown Select, does anyone know what is in the pipeline yet for this year besides the upcoming sets from Martha And The Four Tops? Any more Miracles, Mary Wells Marvin Gaye or Supremes? Seems like the Baby It's Me album has been on hold for several months now. What's the deal with that?

[cheekylincs]

I applaud Hip O Select for what they are doing at the moment and look forward to every new release. The only album I absolutely so want to see is the unreleased Martha and The Vandellas Live At The Copa - I simply cannot get a copy of this and I know there are some copies to be had! Maybe a double set would be good coupled with Martha and The Vandellas Live In Japan. Please take note Hipo!

[thanxal]

It would be fantastic to have all of the Martha and the Vandellas albums given the deluxe treatment, but if I were only to have one, it would be Watchout! It remains one of the few Motown albums [[along with What's Going On and A Go Go) that I can listen to first to last track without skipping tracks.

[calvin]

We all have our own personal tastes. For myself, I would prefer to see all the STUDIO albums out on cd before the live albums. Live albums can be as good or better than the studio albums, but most aren't, in my opinion. Hip-O did a great job with The Supremes' At The Copa, but it's not one of my favorites and I won't listen to it very often. The Supremes did several MOR songs in that show - and The Supremes [[again, just my opinion) were much better at pop than MOR.

I didn't buy the "In Japan" series right away, I wasn't sure I wanted them. Then about a year ago I saw a cheap used copy of the J5 In Japan cd, so I bought it. Then I checked The Temptations and Supremes In Japan online, and they were no longer very expensive - it seemed like some sellers were cutting prices on the Supremes to get rid of them. I got copy number 4976 out of 5000. And - again only my opinion, I know others think differently and I respect that! - I didn't like it. I had to force myself to listen to the whole cd. I hate it when they do those medleys! I'd rather have them do just a couple of hits, full length, than to rattle off several in rapid fire.

The J5 and Tempations In Japan cds were better but I've still only listened to each once.

No, please give me the studio albums, especially those that have never appeared on cd, like some by The Originals, Jr Walker & The All Stars, and there are even a couple from Smokey Robinson & The Miracles which have never appeared on cd.

[alanbill1074]

We all have our own personal tastes. For myself, I would prefer to see all the STUDIO albums out on cd before the live albums. Live albums can be as good or better than the studio albums, but most aren't, in my opinion. Hip-O did a great job with The Supremes' At The Copa, but it's not one of my favorites and I won't listen to it very often. The Supremes did several MOR songs in that show - and The Supremes [[again, just my opinion) were much better at pop than MOR.

I didn't buy the "In Japan" series right away, I wasn't sure I wanted them. Then about a year ago I saw a cheap used copy of the J5 In Japan cd, so I bought it. Then I checked The Temptations and Supremes In Japan online, and they were no longer very expensive - it seemed like some sellers were cutting prices on the Supremes to get rid of them. I got copy number 4976 out of 5000. And - again only my opinion, I know others think differently and I respect that! - I didn't like it. I had to force myself to listen to the whole cd. I hate it when they do those medleys! I'd rather have them do just a couple of hits, full length, than to rattle off several in rapid fire.

The J5 and Tempations In Japan cds were better but I've still only listened to each once.

I am on the same page as you. I buy live releases purely to show support for the artist, to keep the releases coming. I haven't listened to Copa all the way through and managed half the Live In Japan one. I have them already on other formats, largely unplayed too. They are simply a means to an end to me, to ensure the studio albums continue to get expanded treatment. I generally hate live albums [[Diana Ross "Greatest Hits Live" being the exception). The Supremes [[and 70s Ross) were guilty of far too many show tunes and covers, at the expense of their own [[better) hits. I understand why in the 60s this might have been the case, but by the mid 70s all those covers and tunes should have been dropped. I have "Live At Caesers Palace" on CD twice, several vinyls including the Japan Quad one, and I have never listened to it all the way through.

[calvin]

Those Four Tops tapes are safe and sound. They didn't get thrown out. The only things that got thrown out were the mono tapes, and that was up to about 1971 or so. Obviously, some survived, or else we wouldn't have the mono single mixes of three Dog Night's "Liar" and "Joy To The World".

The problem of lossless really isn't with the labels. they can do whatever is demanded with relative ease. If it comes down to it, they can just rip an existing CD! The problem is with the vendors, and what they want to market. Most are content selling mp3s or AAC losssy. HDTracks sells hi-rez, but the labels have to go back in and remaster the stuff from the tapes if they don't pull any funny business and just upsample redbook.

I think the reason we see so much Diana Ross/Supremes stuff reissued right now is because Weigner and the others read this forum and decide, based on the feedback and activity, that it's the best way to go. Obviously, if the rest of us want more than just those singers reissued, we have to be more vocal about what we want.

I'm very happy to hear that the Four Tops' ABC Dunhill masters are safe, and I hope to see them on cd some day [[soon)!

Yes, of course it would be very easy to get lossless downloads out there. I think the problem is a historical one - this all started back in the days when bandwidth was low and memory was scarce, not only on portable devices but even on home computers. That's all changed since then, but people have become comfortable with mp3. I'm sure that Amazon has considered lossless downloads and decided against it, and I can imagine a number of reasons. Suppose they started offering lossless FLAC downloads. First, many users without a bit of computer savvy would be lost with FLAC, because neither Microsoft nor Apple support it natively, they both tried to push their own lossless formats [[my Samsung smartphone, running on Google's Android and independent of Microsoft and Apple, does support flac natively). That means you need to download some new software to play the files, this is easy and there are many to choose from, but many customers will struggle with this. But then, once they see that Amazon is offering a "superior" lossless download, they will know that the mp3 downloads they've been doing are inferior, and this may put them off some future purchases. Offering more choices sometimes just confuses many buyers. Also Amazon is now pushing their cloud storage, so of course it's better for them - under their current pricing scheme, which I think is by the number of songs [[but I'm not sure about this, I don't use it) - if people have smaller music files.

My hope for lossless downloads would be more with a smaller player like 7digital, who could differentiate themselves from Amazon and Itunes by offering something like this.

I commented before that I feel bad for future generations of Motown fans who won't be able to buy this stuff in a high-quality format in the future. On further thought, I think this is wrong. Some of these titles will be hard to find for many years, but there will be new fans/customers who will want these titles on cd or another high-quality format. It would be stupid of Universal to not to collect easy rent on a big part of their back catalogue, and they aren't stupid. We will see these titles again, but it might not be for a long time.

For the other labels, relating to the budget box discussion, I think they have had the following strategy: They put out a cd from their back catalogue and it is available for years at full price. By some point nearly everyone who is willing to pay full price for it has done so, and sales have dropped off. After a few more years, they repackage it [[I think normally with the same mastering as the original cd, this saves money) as part of a budget box, and they find a new set of customers who didn't want it all full price but will buy it at a big reduction. [[I am sometimes one of these customers.)

[soulster]

I'm very happy to hear that the Four Tops' ABC Dunhill masters are safe, and I hope to see them on cd some day [[soon)!

We have seen many of the songs from those three albums reissued on CD in the last couple of decades. And, "Keeper Of The castle", the album, was reissued on CD at least once. The tapes are there.

It would be nice if a place like 7 Digital could make a name for itself with lossless downloads, but the push will have to come from iTunes or Amazon.

I am aware of the history of mp3.

[R. Mark Desjardins]

cheekylinks;
Some years ago I read somewhere that the Martha & The Vandellas "Live" vinyl record was quite different in the mono and stereo versions. Back then, with many music collectors dumping their vinyl collections in favor of compact discs, it was relatively easy finding a used copy of both. Thankfully I lucked out in tracking down the two versions, and what a treat the mono recording is! Having both versions released is a must for a Hip-o Select future release.

[cheekylincs]

cheekylinks;
Some years ago I read somewhere that the Martha & The Vandellas "Live" vinyl record was quite different in the mono and stereo versions. Back then, with many music collectors dumping their vinyl collections in favor of compact discs, it was relatively easy finding a used copy of both. Thankfully I lucked out in tracking down the two versions, and what a treat the mono recording is! Having both versions released is a must for a Hip-o Select future release.

Yes I read that the mono and stereo versions of the 'Live' album are different - not sure of the difference between the two though! I have a copy of the stereo version which is a very good album. Martha and The Vandellas performances at The Copa were outstanding by all accounts and for this reason alone I would so love to see this finally released - I can hope!!

[reese]

Yes I read that the mono and stereo versions of the 'Live' album are different - not sure of the difference between the two though! I have a copy of the stereo version which is a very good album. Martha and The Vandellas performances at The Copa were outstanding by all accounts and for this reason alone I would so love to see this finally released - I can hope!!

With the exception of I'M READY FOR LOVE, the songs on Side One are different performances depending on whether you're listening to mono or stereo. But the set list is the same.

Also, old Motown inner sleeves list THAT'S LIFE as one of the tracks, but it isn't included on either version. I have an old Soul magazine which states that they kept running out of tape while recording this album. Perhaps THAT"S LIFE was one of the songs that they never got around to record.

[kenneth]

Ngroove a great thread! When I read every response, it makes being here a wonderful experience.

While we are on the subject of Hippo, Complete Motown Singles 1966, would it be too much to ask for, a re-pressing of say 2,500 copies, the used market has pushed up the resale to $180 and more, or roughly double what it sold for when it came out.

@Motown4Ever518,

I've seen several of the Complete Singles Box Sets at reasonable prices recently at both Record Surplus and Amoeba Records in LA. I didn't check them out to see which years they had because I already have the whole series, but I think at least at Record Surplus the sets were only about $60, and maybe a little higher at Amoeba.

Also, I was just there on Sunday and I'm fairly certain that one of the sets at Record Surplus had the "Reach Out I'll Be There" single on the cover so that would make it the 1966 singles set.

Both have web sites and both are very customer oriented. Amoeba also has a pretty extensive search procedure; if you don't find a title in the catalog online, they'll search their store inventory for you. Anyway, they may have the title you're missing.

Hope you find the set you need.

[I ♥ The Supremes and Temptations]

I have to say I'm satisfied with what Hip-o-select puts out especially with the Supremes....
Just wish that the The Temptations albums get more special treatment....especially since they were the second most successful group on the label at that time...it would be nice to hear some live recordings or more unreleased tracks

[Motown4Ever518]

Kenneth,

Thank you ! I will follow up.

[kenneth]

Sure...hope I was right and you find the set you need.